This is always something I wanted to start, a guide to how I do my model kits for those of you that want to get into building a few, but have no expertise whatsoever in building anything, or what the heck a "sprue" is. I'm here to help out: I will keep it as short as possible, but I want it to be lengthy (its not complicated! I promise!) so you can get the most out of my little to-do guide. Let's start with a little history.
History
Originally called garage kits, they began to boom around the 1980's as..... a project you did in your garage. If I remember correctly, cars were the first models and then the industry expanded to models of almost everything. Resin kits (any resin, in a basic form is basically a glue, like your everyday elmers glue) were the first real kits to experience the molding process (where on a metal/whatever sheet, the outline is imprinted in the piece, then liquid plastic, resin, etc, whatever is poured into the mold, then they place the identical other side on top (or a flat piece) and lock it to dry and mold into the said piece. When technology came around and knocked on everyone's doorstep, models were created by a process called "injection molding". It's practically the same thing as above, but with computer guided precision and better use of quality materials. Basically what comes out of the process is probably what you have seen before: those pieces of gray plastic that may look kind of odd.
Where should I go?
To find a model kit store, I would recommend a store or franchise that specializes in purely models. One place I go to and buy from regularly are Hobbytown USA. Regardless, if you find a place that sells model kits, go ahead and take a peak in. Your first task is to find out what your interested in. Gundams? Figures (people)? Ships? Cars? Planes? These are the basic genres of model building. When you figure out what you want to buy, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING LARGE IN SCALE. Which brings me too.... Scale In model building, we cannot build something of its actual size! So instead, we build a smaller replica of it. Say I am building the USS Missouri kit, and the box tells me its 1:350 scale. This means if I were to expand every dimension of the kit 350 times, I would have the real USS Missouri. In english, put 350 of them together and you should have the ship in real life. For ships, anything 1:350 and bigger is considered a large (3 foot long) ship. I would advise against building something this large when you are just starting out. If you want to start in ships, go 1:426 or 1:700 to start. For cars, around 1:32 I believe is a good sized model. To gauge how big something is: anything close to 1:1 is really huge or close to actual size, and anything closer to 1:1000 of the spectrum is tiny.
Opening a Kit
Yay! I get to finally open my kit. Have that feeling of excitement? If you do, you may be a future model builder. But HOLD ON THERE JETHRO, don't get to hasty with your kit. Let's examine what everything is. Most kits come with instructions, and you should study them first to see what goes where, and if there is something special you need to do to a part, usually the instructions will call for it at that part's stage. What the pieces are attached to should be a rectangle looking frame. We call this the "sprue", or if you would like to call it, the tree. Never snap parts off the tree if you want to build a good looking model: this may damage the piece or make the piece require more touchup work, thus more of your time, which I know (like me) we don't have much of it. Im going to skip ahead a little bit and discuss paint: but we will come back on how to assemble stuff!
Paint
Paint comes in a few forms: but you will be primarily dealing with two types of paints: Acrylics (good for plastic) and enamel. There are four ways to apply paint: 1) throw it on there (dont do it) 2) airbrush 3) regular hand brush 4) spraypaint. For large areas for those big models, I recommend spraypaint. Its usually $5.99 a can, so don't waste it or get button happy. Apply that always 8 inches away from your work, sometime I go 6 inches if a part is small. NO CLOSER than that. Spraycans sometimes have a good effect, in part because the spray evenly coats the paint onto the entire piece. The airbrush is the ultimate (and must for amateur/professional/wannabe professionals) tool for painting. It spreads the paint even more thinly and evenly than a spraycan. An airbrush however, requires getting used to for proper technique, and you also have to clean it out after every single use. It will take some time to get to know it: but ultimatly an airbrush produces the best results. For some models you can paint by hand, but usually I save brush painting for tiny pieces. With a brush, apply sparingly and carefully to your part always in one direction. I'll guide you on how to clean brushes a little later. I store my paints in an inexpensive slideout bins, and just as I was getting to like it, it came with rolling wheels too (NICE for the concrete on the garage floor). I sort by Spraypaint vs. Bottle, Enamel vs. Acrylic. Other than metallizers (make things metallic like jet exhausts), I never use laquer paint due to lack of availability in my area.
The Tools of the Trade
History
Originally called garage kits, they began to boom around the 1980's as..... a project you did in your garage. If I remember correctly, cars were the first models and then the industry expanded to models of almost everything. Resin kits (any resin, in a basic form is basically a glue, like your everyday elmers glue) were the first real kits to experience the molding process (where on a metal/whatever sheet, the outline is imprinted in the piece, then liquid plastic, resin, etc, whatever is poured into the mold, then they place the identical other side on top (or a flat piece) and lock it to dry and mold into the said piece. When technology came around and knocked on everyone's doorstep, models were created by a process called "injection molding". It's practically the same thing as above, but with computer guided precision and better use of quality materials. Basically what comes out of the process is probably what you have seen before: those pieces of gray plastic that may look kind of odd.
Where should I go?
To find a model kit store, I would recommend a store or franchise that specializes in purely models. One place I go to and buy from regularly are Hobbytown USA. Regardless, if you find a place that sells model kits, go ahead and take a peak in. Your first task is to find out what your interested in. Gundams? Figures (people)? Ships? Cars? Planes? These are the basic genres of model building. When you figure out what you want to buy, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING LARGE IN SCALE. Which brings me too.... Scale In model building, we cannot build something of its actual size! So instead, we build a smaller replica of it. Say I am building the USS Missouri kit, and the box tells me its 1:350 scale. This means if I were to expand every dimension of the kit 350 times, I would have the real USS Missouri. In english, put 350 of them together and you should have the ship in real life. For ships, anything 1:350 and bigger is considered a large (3 foot long) ship. I would advise against building something this large when you are just starting out. If you want to start in ships, go 1:426 or 1:700 to start. For cars, around 1:32 I believe is a good sized model. To gauge how big something is: anything close to 1:1 is really huge or close to actual size, and anything closer to 1:1000 of the spectrum is tiny.
Opening a Kit
Yay! I get to finally open my kit. Have that feeling of excitement? If you do, you may be a future model builder. But HOLD ON THERE JETHRO, don't get to hasty with your kit. Let's examine what everything is. Most kits come with instructions, and you should study them first to see what goes where, and if there is something special you need to do to a part, usually the instructions will call for it at that part's stage. What the pieces are attached to should be a rectangle looking frame. We call this the "sprue", or if you would like to call it, the tree. Never snap parts off the tree if you want to build a good looking model: this may damage the piece or make the piece require more touchup work, thus more of your time, which I know (like me) we don't have much of it. Im going to skip ahead a little bit and discuss paint: but we will come back on how to assemble stuff!
Paint
Paint comes in a few forms: but you will be primarily dealing with two types of paints: Acrylics (good for plastic) and enamel. There are four ways to apply paint: 1) throw it on there (dont do it) 2) airbrush 3) regular hand brush 4) spraypaint. For large areas for those big models, I recommend spraypaint. Its usually $5.99 a can, so don't waste it or get button happy. Apply that always 8 inches away from your work, sometime I go 6 inches if a part is small. NO CLOSER than that. Spraycans sometimes have a good effect, in part because the spray evenly coats the paint onto the entire piece. The airbrush is the ultimate (and must for amateur/professional/wannabe professionals) tool for painting. It spreads the paint even more thinly and evenly than a spraycan. An airbrush however, requires getting used to for proper technique, and you also have to clean it out after every single use. It will take some time to get to know it: but ultimatly an airbrush produces the best results. For some models you can paint by hand, but usually I save brush painting for tiny pieces. With a brush, apply sparingly and carefully to your part always in one direction. I'll guide you on how to clean brushes a little later. I store my paints in an inexpensive slideout bins, and just as I was getting to like it, it came with rolling wheels too (NICE for the concrete on the garage floor). I sort by Spraypaint vs. Bottle, Enamel vs. Acrylic. Other than metallizers (make things metallic like jet exhausts), I never use laquer paint due to lack of availability in my area.
The Tools of the Trade
Files
You will want to have a few files starting out in this field. Grab a 400, 600, and if permitting, 800+ for fine work. Also grab those small flexi-files. Expensive for a thin piece of sand paper?? wait until you see where they come in handy =). I highly suggest keeping a stock of 400, 600, and 1000+ grit sandpaper (higher number is your choice) for any sanding work. A nail buffer works wonders, especially on Bandai's Gundam kits.
Knives
These are absoloutly essential to a model builder: the #11 x-acto knife blade. Buy multiple blades for #11, you can get really good deals sometimes out of those kits where they sell a bunch of them. I got a set at wal*mart and it was pretty good, but I ended up going back to the hobbystore where I could get extremely sharp knives for accurate work.
Glue
We call it cement in the hobby. Cement is the stuff that holds parts together, and after time will (sometimes) permanently attach them. I recommend NOT getting the tube stuff: it makes a mess and I only recommend it for Lionel building layouts. Grab the plastic "liquid" cement from Testors or Tamiya: Both of their stuff is the best. Be warned about glue: it has fumes, and you can get high off of it. Work in proper ventilation, or lose the ability to have babies in the state of California, and there only. Also, always apply glue SPARINGLY even if the part ain't going together. After a few mins, add more SPARINGLY if you need to. Do not glue your fingers together either. This stuff is stronger than super/crazy glue, but is nothing like it (cement is only for plastics). Get some warm water under your fingers if you do glue them together, and wiggle gently in a circular motion until the stuff is off. Until you are good at models, do not purchase "Plastruct Plastic Weld". This cement is 5 times stronger than crazy glue, tends to melt plastic (ruining your model) and chemically "welds" plastic together. Apply very sparingly. If you see small brush applicators, buy them.
Brushes
Also very important is the quality of your brushes. I have found sage brushes to be of extremely good quality (but expensive). Starting out, like the knives pick up a kit. After applying whatever with the brush, you must wash it out and clean the bristles. If you don't, the brush will harden like a rock and you will have wasted a $7.99 brush (I've done it, and Im telling you NOT to do it). I experimented, and you will want to purchase Oderless Mineral Spirits. MS gets thinner, paint, almost ANYTHING out of tools or brushes. It is safe on your hands don't worry, but try not to get it in your eyes. If you do, bring your eye up to a gentle faucet, open it from the bottom and top, and rinse the eye as needed. If irritation keeps persisting after 15 mins, see a physician/doctor/emergency ward immediatly, depending on the severity.
Where to dump materials
After working with all of these chemicals for a while, there will be waste left over. Instead of leaving it around to stink up your garage and kill you off with its fumes of death, you want to put it somewhere.
I REPEAT, THAT SOMEWHERE IS NOT BACK INTO THE ENVIRONMENT OR TRASH CAN.
NEVER dump chemicals back into the environment, EVER. It's the same with throwing away batteries: You will pollute the environment and contribute to C02 levels and green gasses. There is only one option for removal: Storage in a sealed container that must be treated and dropped off at a treatment plant or dump that will take care of toxic materials. I use my mom's detergent bottles. When I am done painting, i take my cup, pour a little bit of mineral spirits in, and swish the brush around somewhat vigorously, but not hard enough to damage it. I take (always keep handy) paper towels and dry the brush, dip and swish, until I see no color in the mineral spirits on the cloth. Then your brush is done, and ready for another use of painting. My dad works for a HVAC company (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) so he has access to engineers who can safely dispose of my waste. I normally will run up a container of detergent full in about 3 months or so, then dispose of it and get a new one. The Earth gives us so much: treat her well by not getting her sick =).
Assembling a Model
Follow the instructions carefuly and study them. Take note of any special order or things you need to do to make parts fit. Snap together kits are fun, and sometimes require no glue (best choice for beginners). Cut the piece off of the sprue only when you neet it, with a nice pair of clippers you can get anywhere from $10-$15 USD (they are worth the investment. If you have some sticking out, we call this a "gate". Take your #11 x-acto knife, and GENTLY scrape the excess plastic away. This will take practice, but if you go too deep, you will make an indentation, and will have to 1) live with it or 2) fill it up with puddy and repaint the part.
Once a model is done, mask her up and paint the model if you so desire to (masking guide in the next how to series). You will want to buy something called "Testors Dullcoate", my preferred finising material. This coat protects the paint underneath, and will resist dust. Give the model 2-3 coats of this material, standing 8-10 inches away from the work if it is something like a large ship. Let dry, most things, whether paint, solutions, glue, or finishing material, is DONE DRYING when you can barely smell it or not smell it at all.
More how-to next time!
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